5.10.2017

Spotlight & Giveaway: Sonora and the Eye of the Titans by T.S. Hall

Sonora and the Eye of the TitansT.S. Hall
Publication date: January 14th 2017
Genres: Urban Fantasy, Young Adult

The King is dead, and the capital city of Titanis has fallen. The world of Sonora is at war, and the only hope against the onslaught of the Titan army lies with the last royal descendant of Zeus, who is being covertly sheltered on Earth in the secluded mountain town of Sandy, Oregon.
Allora is a shy, intelligent sixteen-year-old, trying to get through the gauntlet of high school while coming to terms with her otherworldly origins. After getting into a fight at soccer tryouts, Allora’s emotions boil over, and her hands suddenly burst into flames. She has harnessed the power of hadrons at the highest level, but at extreme cost. The magical outburst projects an energy signature that is detected by a group of assassins tasked with killing Sonoran rebels.
To survive, Allora, Katie, Dax, and Tanner must find a powerful ancient artifact known as the Eye of the Titans. With the help of a guardian known as Sasquatch, they will have to fight off creatures, solve complex riddles, and navigate magical caverns, all while enduring advanced calculus, jealous girlfriends, and prom.

Allora picked up one of the bottles and read the label out loud, “Balumar Family: Signature Slug Sauce.” She wrinkled up her nose, shrugged, put the bottle down, and picked up another, a very small glass bottle with tiny writing that couldn’t be read with the naked eye.

Seeing Allora uncork the container, Mrs. Ferris yelled, “Stop!”

Allora froze, unsure why her teacher had snapped. “Uh… sorry. I was just—”

Mrs. Ferris carefully took hold of Allora’s wrist and, like a puppeteer, directed her hand to place the cork carefully back into the top of the walnut-sized glass bottle. A hard sigh followed.

“That is Tiranis extract,” Mrs. Ferris said. “It is made from the Tiranis plant and is the stickiest substance on Sonora. One drop can deform the skin and you could possibly lose a finger or hand. If you are going to handle it, you must do so with extreme caution and only with gloves.”

Allora slowly lowered the bottle to the linoleum countertop and inched away as if it were a ticking bomb.

Mrs. Ferris neatly arranged the necessary items on the rest of the stations, then made her way to the blackboard. After she carefully wrote the instructions on the board, she said, “Please begin.”

Allora started by boiling two cups of slug sauce, then slowly poured in a half-cup of liquid spider web, followed by two teaspoons of crushed lilac powder and a tablespoon of dragon blood. She let the mixture cook for ten minutes, until a shallow film formed on the top.

“Um… Mrs. Ferris?” Dax said as the liquid boiled over the rim of his pot. “I think there’s something wrong with my recipe,” he confessed as an extremely large greenish-yellow bubble grew from the pot.

“Oh no! Don’t touch it!” Mrs. Ferris said, sprinting to the back shelf and extracting a potion from the inner wall.

The bubble grew larger, engulfing the lab station. In mere moments, it ballooned so big that it hit the ceiling.

Mrs. Ferris pulled out a smoky liquid from the potion bottle, like a rabbit from a hat, and magically pushed the contents toward the monstrous bubble. It exploded, covering everyone with a slimy film of greenish goo. “How much lilac powder did you put in there?” she asked.

“Two tablespoons,” Dax replied, wiping the slimy goo from his face.

Mrs. Ferris shook her head and grabbed several towels from a drawer.

“Teaspoons, you moron!” Katie yelled, aggressively swiping the slime from her shirt and pants.

Dax apologized profusely, all while trying to stifle a laugh at his sister, who had slime dripping from her bangs.

Mrs. Ferris threw each of them a towel. “It’s all right. You’re not the first to make that mistake. When the lilac powder mixes with dragon blood, it causes a reaction with the slug sauce.”

Katie bent down with arms outstretched and a look of disgust. “Ew! You mean I’m covered in slug boogers?"

Author Bio:
I’m a writer, skier, and wanderer. I grew up in Portland, Oregon, but currently live in the beautiful mountain resort town of Sun Valley, Idaho. I love history, mythology, and the fantastical interpretations that have been incorporated in my debut young adult urban fantasy series called Sonora.